With several top contenders disqualified by WGA rules, the guild opts for a slate that also includes "Looper," "Life of Pi" and "The Master"

"Lincoln," "Zero Dark Thirty," "Argo" and "Silver Linings Playbook" are among the nominees for the Writers Guild of America's top film awards, the WGA, West and WGA, East announced on Friday.

In the Best Original Screenplay category, "Zero Dark Thirty" will be competing with "Flight," "Looper," "The Master" and "Moonrise Kingdom."

In the Adapted Screenplay category, "Lincoln," "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Argo" will go up against "Life of Pi" and "The Perks of Being a Wallflower."

(Left: "Argo" writer Chris Terrio with director/star Ben Affleck.)

The nominations contained few surprises, with even "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" being considered a strong contender for a nomination.

Possible nominees that were overlooked include "Arbitrage," "Skyfall," "Bernie," "This Is 40," "The Sessions" and "The Dark Knight Rises."

The nominated screenplays were selected from a group of eligible films far smaller than the group that qualified for the Academy Awards. WGA rules restrict its awards to films written by members or written for productions that are made under the jurisdiction of the guild's Minimum Basic Agreement, or the agreement of several affiliated international guilds.

Ever year, the restrictions knock out a number of scripts that would otherwise be in contention. In the adapted category, this year's ineligible films include "Les Miserables," "Beasts of the Southern Wild," "Anna Karenina" and "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel." On the original-screenplay side, "Django Unchained," "Seven Psychopaths," "Amour," "Rust and Bone" and "The Impossible" all failed to qualify.

(Right: Director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal on the set of "Zero Dark Thirty.")

Overall, 39 adaptations qualified for the WGA Awards, compared to 108 at the Oscars; 58 original screenplays made the cut, compared to the Academy's field of 165.

The number of films ineligible each year for the WGA Awards makes it the major guild award with the least correlation to Oscar nominations. On the other hand, it has a pretty good track record matching winners, with 15 of the last 20 WGA winners going on to take home Academy Awards.

In the documentary category, the WGA recognized three films currently on the Oscar shortlist — "The Invisible War," "Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God" and "Searching for Sugar Man" — along with "The Central Park Five," "We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists" and "West of Memphis."

The nominees:

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAYFlight, Written by John Gatins; Paramount PicturesLooper, Written by Rian Johnson; TriStar PicturesThe Master, Written by Paul Thomas Anderson; The Weinstein CompanyMoonrise Kingdom, Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola; Focus FeaturesZero Dark Thirty, Written by Mark Boal; Columbia Pictures

ADAPTED SCREENPLAYArgo, Screenplay by Chris Terrio; Based on a selection from The Master of Disguise by Antonio J. Mendez and the Wired Magazine article “The Great Escape” by Joshuah Bearman; Warner Bros. PicturesLife of Pi, Screenplay by David Magee; Based on the novel by Yann Martel; 20th Century FoxLincoln, Screenplay by Tony Kushner; Based in part on the book "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln" by Doris Kearns Goodwin; DreamWorks PicturesThe Perks of Being a Wallflower, Screenplay by Stephen Chbosky; Based on his book; Summit EntertainmentSilver Linings Playbook, Screenplay by David O. Russell; Based on the novel by Matthew Quick; The Weinstein Company

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAYThe Central Park Five, Written by Sarah Burns and David McMahon and Ken Burns; Sundance SelectsThe Invisible War, Written by Kirby Dick; Cinedigm Entertainment GroupMea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, Written by Alex Gibney; HBO Documentary FilmsSearching for Sugar Man, Written by Malik Bendejelloul; Sony Pictures ClassicsWe Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists, Written by Brian Knappenberger; Cinetic MediaWest of Memphis, Written by Amy Berg & Billy McMillin; Sony Pictures Classics

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Steve Pond, awards editor at TheWrap, is also author of the L.A. Times bestseller The Big Show. He has been covering entertainment for more than two decades, and is the industry's most knowledgeable Academy Awards prognosticator.